


When He's Home

by der_tanzer



Series: In the Beginning [2]
Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-20
Updated: 2010-05-20
Packaged: 2017-10-09 14:35:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/88498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/der_tanzer/pseuds/der_tanzer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens after Murray's date</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nick

It was after midnight when Murray came slinking onboard the Riptide.  His date had ended rather suddenly two hours ago and since then he’d been sitting in the Mimi, waiting for it to be late enough to go home.  Waiting for the guys to go to sleep so he wouldn’t have to talk about what happened.  Nick always hid out in or on or around Mimi when he was hurting and Murray felt close to him there.  No one knew that he didn’t have secret spaces of his own, he simply used theirs and borrowed the comfort they left behind.

In the same way he sometimes sat in the wheelhouse at night and pretended he was a great seaman like Cody, bravely navigating the channel (and never getting hung up on jetties like Nick did that time).  Guiding his lovely old boat out onto the ocean, never getting lost in spite of the total absence of landmarks (or land), a strong lonely figure of power.  Well, Murray could navigate by the stars, at least in theory, and he was lonely enough, but he wasn’t strong.  Not like Cody was.  If he were he would be with Debbie right now instead of creeping through the sleeping boat with his shoes in his hand, trying only to get to bed unnoticed.

He undressed in the dark and felt around on a pile of boxes for his pajamas.  He really needed to get this place organized some day.  Nick and Cody had offered him a place in their room and he was tempted but in the end it was always too hard.  The risks were just too great.  It wasn’t something he could even explain but he didn’t seem to need to.  They didn’t seem to mind him dating, they even encouraged it with clothing advice and the loan of cars.  It was a little confusing, given the reception he always received upon returning to their beds, but Murray didn’t know what else to do.

Still thinking hard, Murray stepped into his pajama pants and took off his glasses.  He sat down on the bed to button his shirt and nearly screamed when the lumpy mattress moved beneath him.  A hand covered his mouth, choking back the sound.  Not a lumpy mattress.  Nick.

“It’s okay, Boz.  It’s me,” he whispered unnecessarily.  Murray would always know that hand, no matter where it touched him.  He nodded and the hand slid down his neck to rest on his shoulder.

“What are you still doing up?” he asked shakily.  “And why are you in my room?  What if Debbie’d—oh, forget it.  You knew she wasn’t going to come home with me before I even left, didn’t you?  God, why am I so—so…”

“So what, Murray?  Debbie’s a pretty girl but she’s clinically retarded.  She doesn’t have the mental capacity to appreciate a can of Spam let alone a brilliant guy like you.  The sex would be great but you’d be bored in five minutes.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he said, unconvinced.  “So why are you here?  You’re not fighting with Cody, are you?”

“No, nothing like that.  I just wanted to talk to you and I couldn’t really sleep until I did.”

“Oh.  Am I in trouble?  Did I do something wrong?”

“That’s always your first guess.”  The hand on his shoulder slid down to his waist and under the tail of his shirt, curling naturally around his slender ribs.  “No, you never do anything wrong.  It’s just that me and Cody were talking and we’re afraid there’s some stuff you don’t know.  I know there’s some stuff I don’t know and to be honest, it bugs the hell out of me.”

“And you got stuck sitting up to play twenty questions?  Sorry.”

“We flipped a coin,” Nick smiled.  “I won.”

“You w—?” he blushed and ducked his head, suddenly understanding.

“Yeah, I won.  So I get to be the one to tell you that we wish you’d just—stay home.  You always seem so happy, for a while, and then you take up with some woman—some moron who isn’t worth a burnt fuse—and forget all about us until you get dumped.  I don’t understand why you can’t just stay home with the people who love you.”

Murray turned away, tried to rise, and the heavy hand held him back.

“Don’t run away from me, Boz.  I—_we_—feel like that’s what you’ve been doing and it’s no good.  Tell me why you’re running so we can work this out.”

“There’s nothing to work out.  You and Cody have each other and I don’t have anyone.  I never will.  It’s very simple.”

“No it isn’t.  You have _us_, Murray.  That’s what I’m trying to say.  You don’t need to keep going after these beach bimbos when you have all the love in the world right here.”

“I don’t—I don’t understand.  I mean, I know you love me and I appreciate the way you share your relationship with me when I’m alone but I can’t keep intruding forever.”

“Intruding?  Is that what you think?”  There was laughter and a hint of anger in his voice that sent a shiver up Murray’s spine.  Nick caught Murray’s chin in his hand and turned the flushed face toward him.  “Intruding?” he said again and kissed him, slow and deep.  It would have been impossible to escape that hand and Murray didn’t want to try.  No girl had ever kissed him like that and he wondered suddenly why he thought one could.  When Nick released him he sagged helplessly against the strong shoulder, totally undone.

“Now that I have your attention,” Nick said, still laughing but no longer angry, “maybe I can explain a little better.  See, Cody and me, we didn’t seduce you out of pity that first time like I guess you must have thought.  We’d been wanting to get you into bed almost since you got here.  That was just the first time you were feeling—pliable—enough to go along.  We meant it to be permanent and we thought you knew that.  To be honest, I’m a little hurt that you thought we’d use you just for fun.”  He was also hurt that Murray apparently had no trouble using them but he didn’t know how to say that without sounding totally pathetic.

“I didn’t think that,” Murray said quietly.  “Well, the pity part, I did.  But I never felt used.  I just thought you were trying to make me feel better and I didn’t want to push it too far.  Even Christmas is only one day.”

“You might be a genius but you don’t know shit about relationships,” Nick said flatly.

“No, I don’t.  I’d have to have had some to know anything about them.  Baba’s the only person who ever liked me for more than a few months at a time.  At least before you guys came along.  I don’t want to do anything to ruin what we have.  Maybe you can go find a new place to live and a new best friend but it’s not that easy for me.”

“Finding what we have isn’t easy for anyone.  That’s why we would never have involved you if we didn’t mean for it to last.  It must make sense to you to keep running away but we don’t do it and we don’t expect it so it looks like rejection to us.  It looks like…”

“Like what?” Murray asked earnestly, tilting his head back and trying to focus on Nick’s face.  His friend stole a kiss, the strong arm tightening around his waist.

“Like we’re not good enough for you.  Now I understand if you want something else out of life but you need to be straight with us.  Cody’s really broken up and he deserves some explanation.”  A small deception for a good cause.  And if Cody got some extra sympathetic Murray-loving out of it he couldn’t complain.

“Oh.  Oh, Nick, no.  I didn’t mean to hurt him, or you—that was the point.  I was trying to stay out of the way.”

“And I’m telling you that you’ve never been in the way.  I’m not trying to pump you up here.  I’m not telling you that you can have anyone you want, that anyone would be glad to have you; I’m telling you that you can have _us_.  That _we’d_ be glad to have you.  That we’re really hoping you’ll stop chasing girls one of these days and settle down at home.”

“Really?  But—why?  You already have the love of your life, you’ve had him for years.  What—what do you have left over for me?”

“Murray, buddy, love isn’t like that.  The more you share it the bigger it gets.  Loving Cody so much makes it easier to love you, not harder.  And I know he feels the same, even if he never says it.  The times when you’re with us, really _with us_, are the best.  When you withdraw again it’s so obvious something’s missing—we just aren’t ourselves without you.”

“That hardly seems possible,” Murray whispered.  His voice had gone far away and Nick couldn’t tell if he was thinking about love or mathematical odds.  “That two people who love each other as much as you and Cody, who have so much history and so many things in common, could have any use for a third.”

“Not just any third, Boz.  You.  Why’s it so hard to believe we think you’re special?  Do you see us bringing home any other men, even for a night?”

Murray shuddered unconsciously at the thought.  If they’d ever brought an outsider into their beds he would have left the same night.  Suddenly a light went on in his head and he turned eagerly to face his friend.

“I’m not an outsider?”

“No.  God, no.  That’s the whole point.  If you’re ever outside it’s because you put yourself there.”  Murray smiled, blushing hotly in the dark, and Nick kissed him again.  He loved Murray’s mouth.  So soft and supple and always sweet, as if he’d just been eating fruit.  And Murray was a good kisser, even better in his way than Cody.  And, according to Cody, better than Nick, too.  His whole heart and soul came through every time, no matter how brief the contact.  A chaste kiss on the cheek could leave Nick hollowed out with need or as satisfied as if he’d just been blown, depending on the look in Murray’s eyes.  And an actual blow job from that mouth was—well, there was nothing to compare it to.  Nick thought that if Murray were to give up on girls and start chasing men he’d be a lot more popular.  Though he never said so, of course.  It wasn’t in his best interest to be giving Murray more options.

Slowly, cautiously, Nick pulled him closer, sliding Murray’s open shirt back off his shoulders.  It bound his arms just a little but he didn’t try to free himself as Nick’s tongue traced over his jaw and down his throat.  He groaned softly as Nick bit him, tattooing his neck and shoulder with teeth and deep black bruises.  Murray loved to be bitten, he loved to be hit, in fact, but his friends would seldom do it.  Anything to carry the evidence of love a little longer.  Eyes closed, he let Nick bear him down and take off his pants.  He cried out as the friendly tongue touched his nipple and then sharp teeth closed around it.  He cried out more loudly and the other man hushed him with a smile.

“Easy, Boz.  We don’t want to scare Cody.”

“Is he asleep?”

“Maybe.  But this is my time.  Like I said, I won the coin toss.”

Murray had never thought of himself as a prize before.  But he felt like one when Nick’s hand slid down the length of his body, tickling his ribs and then soothing it away when he giggled.  Nick kissed his narrow chest and flat stomach, slow and torturous, unspeakably relieved by Murray’s hands in his hair.  He was winning.  _They_ were winning.  All Murray had to do to win was lose.

“Nick, do you love me?” he whispered.  The heavy hand closed around his shaft and he groaned, suddenly knowing it was a stupid question.  He always asked stupid questions and they were always kind about it.  Well, almost always.

“Of course I love you.  You’re my Boz,” he said, knowing how Murray loved to hear those words.  “And you’re the only one I have.”

Whatever he might have said next was forgotten when Nick swiped his tongue over the head of Murray’s cock.  Murray’s long fingers clenched, pulling Nick’s hair painfully.  He raised his hips and pushed into Nick’s mouth, suddenly desperate.  Nick had wanted to wait, to drag it out and dominate his skinny friend, but he abruptly changed his mind.  Maybe the best thing was so show Murray that it was okay to take what he wanted. 

Nick let Murray set the rhythm, incredibly aroused just by imagining the long, angular hands that held his head in place.  There was no time for details, for teasing and suspense, Murray was fucking his mouth and Nick was amazed.  He heard the sudden change in Murray’s breathing, heard it go sharp and ragged, and knew he was close.  He pushed back against the controlling hands, releasing all but the plump head of Murray’s cock and probed the most tender spot with the tip of his tongue.  Murray stopped breathing altogether for a second.  He sat straight up, drove most of his length down Nick’s throat and came with a frantic cry.  His orgasm seemed to last forever, pulsing through every vein in his body, and at the end he collapsed, still holding Nick’s head in shaking hands.  Nick lay still for a moment before gently disengaging himself, taking time to lick him clean.  Murray was trembling, his flushed face suddenly pale, and he looked if possible even more frightened than before.

“Hey, Boz, you okay?” he whispered, crawling up to hold his friend.

“Yeah.  Yeah, I just—I kind of lost it there.  I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry.  Don’t ever be sorry for wanting to fuck.”  He brushed damp hair out of Murray’s eyes and kissed him gently.  He could stand to be gentle a little longer.

“Okay.  But—is there something you want?”

“I think you should come up to our cabin and ask Cody that.  What do you say?”

“If he’s awake, sure.”

“He’s awake, trust me.”  Nick sat up and took his hand. 

“Wait, my glasses.”

“You don’t need them, Boz.  I’ll get you there.”


	2. Cody

Cody heard them coming and turned on the lamp.  Nick could do this stuff in the dark but Cody liked to watch.  He sat on his bed, waiting and hoping.  It wasn’t the first time in his life he’d been disappointed in love but it was the first time he’d wanted someone close to him for a long time.  Even in high school when he had crushes on girls they almost always reciprocated at once.  If they didn’t he moved on.  Nick was his truest passion and that one hadn’t gone unrequited long.  Only Murray had ever denied him, giving him tastes of heaven and then slipping away.  Living with him, loving him, was torture and the peace that came during their brief affairs only made the pain of separation more acute.  _And I was never attracted to brains_, he thought, laughing nervously at himself.  Well, he was crazy about that one.  He sometimes jerked off in the shower to the image of Murray’s hands on a keyboard, pretending it was those hands that touched him.  But even in his imagination there was no comparison between his strong paws and Murray’s incredibly lithe fingers.  After having known the real thing it was hard to settle for less.

“You’re awake,” Murray said, sounding oddly amazed.

“I was waiting up for you.  I wanted to hear how your date went.”

Nick led him over to Cody’s bed and sat him down.  Cody slipped an arm around him and kissed his ear softly.

“It was pretty bad.  She said I was boring.  A guy who looked like he just stepped out of a magazine asked her to dance and she never came back.  I think they left together.”

“She doesn’t know what she’s missing,” he whispered.  “But I do.  I’ve been lying here for hours, waiting for my goodnight kiss.”

“Really?”

“Does it sound like I’m kidding?”

It didn’t.  Murray loved his voice, smooth and sure, always sincere, even when he was lying through his perfect teeth.  He turned to Cody, hope shining in his nearly blind eyes, and the other man kissed him.  Cody’s mustache was soft and tickling and he loved that, too. 

“I can never sleep until I know you’re home safe.  I was worried about you, Boz.”

“Why?  What were you worried about?”

“Same as always; that you’ll find some pretty girl and run off.  I hate seeing you hurt but I can’t regret you coming home.”

“You could have said something earlier and saved me a lot of time.”

“But you know now, right?  You won’t leave us again?”

“Whatever you want, Cody.  I think you guys might know what’s best for me after all.”

“Not always.  But usually.  And right now I want to fuck you.  Is that okay?”

“Whatever you want,” he said again, his voice suddenly low with desire.  He loved being fucked by his smooth blond friend.  Cody could be made to lose his head and do things that he wouldn’t if he were thinking straight.  Things that Nick would only do under threat of death and then only hesitantly.

“On the floor,” Cody said.  “Kneel down for me.”

Nick was so moved by the sight of Murray on his knees that he stepped forward and sat down on the bed.  He knew Cody would appreciate the show.  Murray propped his elbows against Nick’s thighs, already thinking about how best to return the favor he had received.  He felt Cody’s hands on his back, rubbing tense muscles, easing away a lifetime of fear.  Almost drowsily he leaned forward and kissed the tip of Nick’s cock.  It tasted salty and sweet with the clean masculinity of his friend and Nick’s hand on his neck made him tremble.  They were both so strong, it was a little frightening to be caught between them, but Cody’s hands soothed him.  He didn’t tickle or tease this time, he was too eager and Murray must be kept calm.  This part was still new to him and though nothing would make him say _stop_ they both knew it often hurt.  The little guy just never stopped giving.  Sometimes that made Cody feel kind of sad but tonight it turned him on.

He watched Nick’s hands buried in Murray’s hair, listened to their mingling moans, and went to work.  He reached around Murray’s hip and gripped his semi-erect member.  Murray moved into his hand, a low groan vibrating in his throat.  Cody took advantage of his pleased distraction to squeeze a little K-Y onto one finger and stroked him tenderly.  Murray sighed and Nick felt him wanting to bite his lip.  His hands grew gentler, running his thumbs over Murray’s sharp cheekbones, telling him they were all in it together.  Murray gasped as the finger slipped into him and swallowed hard.  It was a perfect circle: everything one did caused pleasure to reverberate to the other two and no movement was wasted.

Cody probed and explored, preparing him carefully, the skillful hand on Murray’s throbbing shaft keeping him from feeling any pain.  Nick kept touching his face, calloused thumbs tracing the translucent eyelids and hollow cheeks.  He was getting thin again, over worked and over tired, but they’d take care of that.  Everything would be easier now.

Murray rocked forward on his knees as Cody slipped into him, as slow and patient as he could.  Nick’s hands on his shoulders helped hold him in place and for the first time he abandoned the sweet treat he’d been sucking.  He looked up, blind and uncertain, and felt Nick’s lips on his forehead.

“It’s okay, Boz,” he whispered.  “Just take a second.”

Murray nodded vaguely, lowering his head as Cody withdrew, as if steeling himself for a blow.  Before Nick could tell him not to Cody thrust and Murray rocked back into it with a low groan.  Pain radiated through him, burning his stomach and spreading flames through his body like raw alcohol.  But Cody’s hand tightened on his cock, his breathing grew ragged in Murray’s ear, and it was worth it.  Any amount of pain was worth it if it pleased either of them that much.

“Hey, Cody, take it easy,” Nick whispered and Murray silenced him by swallowing his thick cock once more.  When he felt Cody hesitate he pushed back onto him with force, wiping away all thoughts of restraint in his friend.  The harder Cody fucked him the harder he sucked and Nick was the first to come.  Murray swallowed hungrily, taking him so deep that he was surprised he didn’t meet Cody somewhere in the middle.  But Nick was also the one who got so sensitive after and Murray was quick to let him go.  He laid his head on the firm thigh and closed his eyes to better concentrate on Cody’s ministrations.  Nick’s hands were still on his shoulders, holding on loosely now that his passion was spent, but he was paying close attention to the man in his lap.  Cody would hurt him without meaning to and Murray would never complain, but who knew how much trouble that really caused, down in Murray’s heart where who knew what secrets lay?

But this time Nick saw no sign of pain marring the clear features and pain was one thing that Murray always showed.  He met each thrust with enthusiasm, moaning a soft, continuous sound of joy.  It wasn’t like anything his friends had seen before and they were almost at a loss.

Suddenly Murray raised his head, his arms still around Nick’s waist, and softly said, “Hit me, Cody.  Please, hit me.”

Cody was lifting his hand in thoughtless obedience when he accidentally caught Nick’s eyes.  There was the briefest of pauses, during which Nick raised his eyebrows and gave a tiny nod.  Murray said it again, low and desperate.

“Cody, hit me, please.”

So he did.  His hand came down on Murray’s narrow ass with a sound like a gunshot and the skinny man groaned happily.  Nick rubbed his neck and shoulders, gently messing up his hair, a tender counterpoint to the stinging slap.

“That’s good, Cody.  Do it again, please.  Don’t stop.”

“Do what, Boz?” he murmured, needing to be sure.

“Hit me.  Fuck me.  Both.  Don’t stop.” 

Cody looked to Nick and got that same nod again.  He was watching and Murray still looked happy, peaceful even.

_Do it_, he mouthed silently.  Cody slapped him again, a little harder this time, simultaneously lengthening the stroke with his other hand.  Murray cried out, a sharp gasp of pure pleasure, and Cody hit him again.  Two, three, four more slaps, the last almost as hard as he could managed, and Murray came screaming, a frantic keening sound that couldn’t scare the neighbors but set dogs barking five slips away.  Nick was still rubbing his neck, overloading his circuits with conflicting signals, and the sight sent Cody tumbling over the edge.  He bit Murray’s shoulder as his climax overwhelmed him and the smaller man’s moans turned into sobs.

“Alright, Cody, that’s enough,” Nick said quietly.

Reality snapped back into place and Cody withdrew almost too quickly.

“Oh shit, Boz, I’m sorry,” he whispered, reaching for the tissues.  A moment later he had Murray off the bed, lying back in his arms, and was stroking the pretty face tenderly.

“It’s okay, it didn’t hurt,” Murray sighed.  “It was good.  I—I really love you guys.”

“We love you, too, Boz,” Cody said, still feeling guilty.  “If I’d known this was what it took to prove it to you I’d have starting smacking you around a long time ago.”

“Well, it was a combination of things.  Guys, are you sure this is okay?  Do I really fit in?”

“I’m glad you asked that,” Nick said, sliding off the bed to join them.  “Have you ever wondered why me and Cody have been lovers all this time and we still sleep in separate beds?”

“Well, sort of.  I mean, it’s none of my business but—yeah—I guess if I thought about it—why?”  The truth was he thought about it a lot, especially when he was sleeping with them.  Nick and Cody always slept in their own beds and he alternated between them, spending the night with first one and then the other.  So Murray always had someone to share a bed with but either Nick or Cody were alone every night.  That always bothered him but whenever he tried to bring it up one of his smoother, faster talking friends forestalled him and the question never came out.

“It’s because this is the way the boat was when I bought it,” Cody told him.  “Changing it would be a real project.  You know anytime you replace something that’s built in with something else that’s built in, especially in a confined space like a boat, you get one bitch kitty of a mess.”

“Like when we remodeled the galley?” Murray said, unable to hold back a smile at the memory.

“Yeah and we ate pizza for six weeks,” Nick agreed.  “Total bitch kitty.  So we decided to put it off.”

“All this time?  I still don’t understand.”  He shivered and Nick drew a blanket off the bed, casually handing it to Cody, who wrapped it around the man in his arms, kissing away his embarrassingly grateful smile.  Then he went on.

“We knew from the beginning, almost, that we needed you to complete our circle.  Not triangle, there’s no top or bottom here and no corners to get stuck in; it’s a circle and it always has been.  Even when you weren’t here, you were.  And we couldn’t decide what to do about the bed.  If we built one big enough for two it would be too small when you finally got in for good but if it was big enough for three there would be too much lonely space while you were gone.  We argued about it for months and then we decided to stick with this.  Most nights we sleep together and whenever you want to, someone sleeps with you.  We always wanted to make sure you knew you were worth the sacrifice.”

“And I totally missed it.  I’m so sorry, guys.  I never would have thought you’d—sacrifice—like that just for me.”

“You say that word _just_ too much.  You’re a lot more than you think you are.”  Nick stood abruptly and offered him a hand.  “You and Cody ought to go take a shower.  Make up for that bruise on your ass.”

“Which one?” he asked slyly, surprising them into laughter.

“Whichever hurts the most.  And, Cody, don’t go roughing him up any more.  I get to sleep with him tonight.”

“Sure thing.  And tomorrow we’ll start building that new bed.”


End file.
